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mark norris

Blas Perez is away from FC Dallas right now to play in World Cup qualifying matches for Panama. Blas scored a nifty goal in the final warm-up match for Panama this past weekend against Jamaica. We've cued the video below to show you the entire sequence of Blas' goal.

After the match, which Panama won 2-1, Blas tweeted this to FC Dallas fans:

Charlotte defeated El Paso 0-1 on a 72nd minute goal in a second round US Open Cup match at El Paso. Charlotte’s Nate Thornton was credited with the goal initially, but post-game both teams agreed it was an own-goal caused by El Paso.

Player to watch – Darryl Roberts

He’s scored three goals in 2012 for Charlotte, good for fourth overall in USL PRO for goal totals this year. Roberts was selected by Toronto FC in the 2007 MLS Supplemental draft, but Roberts played overseas in Europe instead and never donned a jersey for the Reds.

USL PRO play

Charlotte is currently 2-7-2 in league play, good for ninth out of 11 teams. Charlotte lost its most recent match on Saturday 1-2 against Orlando City. Midfielder Christian Meza scored the lone goal of the match for Charlotte.

Open Cup history

Charlotte has never won back-to-back US Open Cup matches. It is 0-1 all-time against MLS teams, losing previously to Chivas USA.

FC Dallas takes on league leaders Real Salt Lake at 8 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest and this is your chance to watch the match with FC Dallas fans.

The Londoner Frisco will be showing the USA vs. Scotland international friendly on the NBC Sports Network beginning at 7 p.m., so you can come and watch USMNT before FCD plays.

2010 MLS MVP David Ferreira and midfielder Bobby Warshaw will sign autographs from 7:30-8 p.m. before the match starts.

The first 100 people through the door will receive FC Dallas sunglasses and bottle openers and fans can also enter to win an autographed Brek Shea Fathead, a 2012 FC Dallas home jersey, a trip for two to the Texas Derby in Houston and more.

FCDallas.com asked midfielder Ricardo Villar for some thoughts about a match he played in Allianz Arena – the venue of this weekend’s Champions League final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich. Here’s what he had to say on the match and the city:

FC Kaiserlautern vs Bayern Munich in 2006 at a packed Allianz Arena – 68,500 people. We lost 1-0, but the experience was memorable. The feeling of entering that field was incredible, almost as if you were floating. It was the best stadium built to date at the time, right after the 2006 WC in Germany.

I remember walking up in the tunnel just thinking I was going to score on Oliver Kahn that day and my friends and family could see it, since it was live on TV in Brazil, too.

As the teams walked up and met at the tunnel, I stared at him, focused and determined and he just happened to glimpse back back down at me with that gigantic head of his. I don't know why he looked so angry, but it felt like being stared by a lion in the zoo.

Needless to say, I did not come even close from scoring. It also did not help the fact that I came in at right mid against Lahm, who is like a energizer bunny on steroids.

What a city and beautiful stadium to host the final. Few hints from someone who lived in Munich for 5 years for whoever will be heading over:

- Do not drive to the stadium. Take the s-bahn. It is the easiest thing, beats traffic and what a atmosphere!

- Try to reserve if all possible a place at Hugo's Pizza and order either the Truffel Pizza or the salmon and ruccola.

- Hit the Spatenhaus, a typical Bavarian restaurant on the end of Maximilianstrasse. Get the duck with dumplings or the schweinshaxe

- Walk around the English garden If you find time and have a Mass at the Beer Garden, otherwise stop by the Hofbrauhaus downtown.

- If you have time, I would take an hour train to Salzburg, Mozart's city, and sightsee the old town and castle before having dinner at the Casino in yet another castle by the Red Bull stadium. Surf and Turf and Play ;). If you went that far, another 20 minutes to the Mondsee will take your breath away.

- Stop by Red Bull Hangar 7 on your way back and see how Mateschitz plays with planes like we do with Legos.

FC Dallas Homegrown Ruben Luna is featured in a Soccer365.com series about MLS' Homegrown Player initiative. The full story is worth a read, as it has thoughts from Luna and his Academy coach Darrin Hedges. An excerpt:

“At that early age, you could just see that he understood the game better than everybody else that was on the field,” Darrin Hedges said. “And he just had the determination unlike any other kids that were out on the field. It was just very apparent that the boy had soccer in his blood.”

At the time Hedges was coaching the FC Dallas Under-12s. Luna was playing for their opponents, Genesis Soccer Club – now known as Genesis Elite FC.

After Genesis went down 1-0, Luna moved up from defense to play striker. He equalized and returned to his starting position on the back line. FC Dallas went ahead once more. And again, Luna moved up top until Genesis leveled the score at 2-2.

FC Dallas would go on to win that game 3-2. But Hedges had seen enough.

“I just told him I thought he played a good game and if he ever wanted to maybe play for a different team or maybe come to FC Dallas and come give our team a look and just about six months later Ruben walked out, walks out to our tryouts and joins our team,” Hedges said.

The secretive voters behind the MLS Power Rankings dropped FC Dallas from No. 13 to No. 14 after its 2-1 loss vs Columbus in the Week Ten rankings. Here's what the voters had to say:

It's hard to have confidence in this FCD group, since they keep finding ways to finish the game with 10 or fewer men. But that was the case early last year as well, and they still put together a good season. They'll be hoping to repeat that formula.